MaXXXine review

MAXXXINE: 

MIA GOTH SLAYS ONCE AGAIN!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

A24

Mia Goth in MaXXXine

 

            Mia Goth (Nymphomaniac, A Cure for Wellness, Infinity Pool) and director Ti West (Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever, The Innkeepers, In a Valley of Violence) are back in MaXXXine, the third and final chapter of Ti West’s X trilogy with 2022’s X and Pearl preceding it. Despite not seeing X in theaters and watching it for the first time the night before seeing Pearl, I found myself really enjoying that movie when I finally watched it and thought it was a fun homage to 1970s slasher films ala Texas Chainsaw Massacre with sort of an exploitation movie feel to it and two extraordinary dual performances by Mia Goth as both Maxine and Pearl. 

            The prequel film, Pearl released only six months after X I was a little on the fence about in terms of whether I liked it as much or more than X when I reviewed it. But watching it again before MaXXXine, I have to say Pearl might have become my favorite film in the series now. 

            I love the fact Pearl is a slasher movie done in the style of a Technicolor musical from the 1920s-30s, like The Wizard of Oz if Dorothy turned into a serial killer (Though the movie technically takes place in the late 1910s during World War I) and the film really showcased Mia Goth’s skills as an actress because she is incredible as Pearl and I had already enjoyed her in X but Pearl is 100% her movie, it also features one of my favorite endings of any film. 

            Given my appreciation for these films, I was excited when MaXXXine was announced and there even was a teaser trailer shown in theaters at the end of Pearl. The film also continues the franchise’s trend of being set during different time periods with X taking place during the 1970s and Pearl for the Golden Age of cinema, MaXXXine does the same thing for the 1980s and serves as a direct sequel to X. 

            I will admit, after leaving MaXXXine it does somewhat pale in comparison to X and especially Pearl, but I still had a blast with this movie. There is a lot to appreciate about the film like the acting (Especially from Mia Goth), the 80s nostalgia, and some of the gory kills, but it’s also a movie where a lot of stuff happens in the plot to the point where it becomes cluttered and a little unfocused. 

            The film is set in 1985 Los Angeles and follows Maxine Minx (Goth) trying to catch her big break in Hollywood by moving away from the adult film industry and into horror cinema. However, a serial killer known as the Night Stalker is on the loose and committing horrific murders throughout the L.A. streets whose trail of blood threatens to reveal Maxine’s sinister past. 

            The film also stars Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby (2013), Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and 3, Tenet) as Elizabeth Bender, Moses Sumney (The Idol) as Leon, Michelle Monaghan (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Mission: Impossiblefranchise, Source Code) as Det. Williams, Bobby Cannavale (Ant-Man 1 and 2, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, The Irishman) as Det. Torres, Halsey (Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, Sing 2, Americana) as Tabby Martin, Lily Collins (Mirror Mirror, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Okja) as Molly Bennett, Giancarlo Esposito (The Mandalorian, Abigail, Megalopolis) as Teddy Knight, Esq., and Kevin Bacon (Footloose, X-Men: First Class, Crazy Stupid Love) as John Labat. 

            Overall, MaXXXine is a solidly crafted and thoroughly entertaining third chapter of the X trilogy even if it doesn’t quite live up to its predecessors. I think what keeps this movie from being as great as X and Pearl is that it jumbles a lot of plots around and with only a runtime of an hour and 41 minutes, it doesn’t really allow much time to flesh all the plot points out. 

            Honestly, all the ideas the movie explores are great and the mystery is suspenseful, but I feel it could have benefitted from a 2 hour runtime to tie up all the loose ends. It’s strange because I criticized Despicable Me 4 for also having an unfocused plot, but this movie despite having a few rough spots was consistently entertaining throughout and kept my interest so I give it a pass. 

            The murder-mystery plot is very engaging and keeps you wondering what it’s all building up to and who’s behind everything. This is more of a mystery thriller rather than a full-on horror movie which is interesting about the film and like Pearl, helps differentiate itself from the earlier films. 

            However, the film does retain its slasher movie elements and many of these kills are delightfully bloody, fleshy, and even painful to the point of wincing in your seat at times. There’s a particular scene involving Maxine doing something to a man’s testicles after a failed attempt at murdering her that got a genuine reaction out of me in the theater and a very satisfying death scene towards the end. 

            Mia Goth once again is excellent as the second half of her dual performance in X, she doesn’t really go full-on psychopath like she did as Pearl, but she commands every scene that she’s in and despite her aspiring star attitude, the film does a great job at getting the audience on her side. I also love how it parallels Pearl, but here Maxine is actually getting much closer to achieving Pearl’s dream than she ever did. 

            MaXXXine may be a bit of a mess in terms of plot, but it’s a lot of fun and a worthy conclusion to Ti West’s X trilogy. It has slasher gore, a murder-mystery, 80s nostalgia cranked up to eleven, and Mia Goth slaying, sure Pearl didn’t become a star, but Mia Goth certainly did thanks to these films and I look forward to seeing what she and Ti West do next in their careers.